Alzheimer's Disease affects millions of Americans, but right now, there isn't a known cure. Researchers in Connecticut, however, suggest that the solution might lie in understanding the gooey protein that builds up in brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
Speaking on WNPR's? The Colin McEnroe Show, Dr. Stephen Strittmatter of Yale said one component of Alzheimer's is the accumulation of big blobs of protein in the brain. These blobs, called amyloid plaques, cause neurons around them to stop working.
Dr. Christopher van Dyck of Yale told WNPR he’s collaborating with Strittmatter on research focusing on the prevention of those protein blobs, which scientists call amyloid plaques.
Using special brain imaging, researchers determine if cognitively-normal candidates between the ages of 65 and 85 have amyloid plaque buildup in their brains. If they do, they qualify to be prescribed an anti-amyloid drug for up to three years.
"As a general rule, we tell people that things that improve heart health also improve brain health."
Dr. Christopher van Dyck
“If we’re so fortunate to have a treatment that can prevent or slow or reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, then I think it would become part of standard preventive care like colonoscopy and everything else," van Dyck said.
Van Dyck says that current Alzheimer's prevention methods, like taking supplements, are problematic because there's little proof that they work.
The most promising method of prevention, he says, is aerobic exercise.
"As a general rule we tell people that things that improve heart health also improve brain health and are likely to lower the risk for Alzheimer’s disease," van Dyck said.
Van Dyck also cautioned people to be wary of false Alzheimer's prevention programs.
"There are some programs out there that are being publicized that are really highly tyrannical of dozens of things to do, and I would say a lot of those are not very evidence based," Strittmatter said.
Strittmatter said there's a growing commitment to find a cure for Alzheimer's across the nation, but researchers are far from finding a treatment method for those brain blobs of amyloid, mostly because funding is directed towards care rather than research.
"It’s great that things have stepped up a bit in the last few years...[but] in this country, we spend nearly $200 billion a year in Alzheimer’s care [and] we spend less than .3 percent of that in research in Alzheimer’s," Srittmatter said.
And consequently, according to Strittmatter, there's not yet a cure for Alzheimer's.
